Union welcomes CJUE decision allowing Ryanair staff to take legal action locally

Union welcomes CJUE decision allowing Ryanair staff to take legal action locally

The Employees National Group, CNE has welcomed a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which, it says, allows Ryanair workers at Charleroi Airport to take legal action against the airline in local courts. "Since 2011, the CNE petitioned for hostesses and stewards working for Ryanair at Charleroi Airport to be able to be defended in Belgian courts with regard to the labour law,” the CNE said. “On the 14th of September, the European Court of Justice issued its ruling, which entirely supports the CNE’s position.”

According to the CNE, the court recalled that, in conflicts relating to work contracts, European rules on legal competence are aimed at protecting the weakest contracting party. “These rules enable the worker to sue his or her employer in the jurisdiction he views as closest to his interests by recognizing that they can take legal action in the member State where the employer has established its domicile or in the place where the worker usually does his/her work,” the CNE explained.

In the case of air transport, “the notion of ‘home base’ is an important element for determining, in circumstances such as the case in point, the place where the worker usually does his/her work,” the union pointed out.   

“In this case, given what has already been decided by the Labour Court in Mons, it seems that the latter will be perfectly able to declare itself competent to handle the matter, even if, according to the CJEU, the home base does not correspond ipso facto to the place where the worker usually does his/her work,” the union concluded.


The Brussels Times


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.